SPRINGFIELD – A woman and her 2-year-old child escaped injury Wednesday night after they were assaulted by a would-be robber, armed with a baseball bat, while they were inside a vehicle on Worthington Street.

Police Capt. Larry Brown said the assault occurred about 10 p.m. as the woman and child, inside a vehicle, waited for the traffic light to change at the Dwight Street intersection. A man approached the rear of the vehicle and hit it with the bat, breaking the rear panel.

The suspect approached the rear passenger door where the toddler was seated and then opened the front passenger door and attempted to grab the woman’s purse, Brown said.

The woman struggled with the suspect, pushing him away. He fled on foot empty-handed, Brown said. The woman drove to a nearby pizza shop and called police.

The suspect is described as black male, dark-complexioned, with facial hair, about 6 feet tall. He was wearing a green hoodie and dark jeans, Brown said.